Pictures from the Jack Mountain Bushcraft school in Maine

I just want to share a bunch of pictures from the Jack Mountain Bushcraft school in Maine where I work as an Instructor in the summer.

www.jackmtn.com

See you on the trail!

Tomahawk AKA "Whisky Jack" ( in Maine)

Apache Knife Fighting & Battle Tactic 1

                                                    Snake Blocker and Chato Hinojosa

Apache Knife Fighting & Battle Tactic 1

By Snake Blocker, Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas

The Sacred Giant Bear and the Mosquitoes

An Apache tribe had the last of the great giant bears living near their summer camp.  The giant bear lived in the cliffs near their village.  The Apaches all had a high level of respect for this sacred giant bear. They would give it plenty of privacy and would thank The Creator for blessing their tribe with the giant bear’s spirit.   One day a rebellious Apache boy was out hunting and spotted a rabbit in the berry bushes.  He pulled his arrow back and aimed, but at that moment, the rabbit ran away. 

The rabbit was running because the sacred giant bear came by to eat the berries.  The boy decided to just shot one arrow at the great bear, and thought it would just bounce off its thick fur.  Just as the boy released the arrow, the giant bear stood up to face the boy and the arrow went straight into the bear’s heart.  The giant bear slumped to the ground and died.  Great fear came over the boy and he dropped his bow and ran back to the village.  The next day, the other Apache hunters came to the same location and saw the sacred giant bear motionless. They spotted the bow nearby and knew the owner was the rebellious boy.

 For respect, the warriors prayed for forgiveness and left the bear where it laid.  The boy was whipped by the village for his crime and selfish ways.  The boy was never allowed in the warrior class society the rest of his days.  The next season when summer came the Apaches were out hunting again and they came across the location where the giant bear had died.  They saw his black silhouette, but as they drew near, the silhouette was merely a swarm of millions of mosquitoes in the shape of the great bear.  Next the swarm of mosquitoes flew towards the Apaches.  As the Apache ran back to the village, the mosquitoes followed and continued to bite into the Apache’s skin.

Apaches knew it was the curse of the sacred bear.  The sacred bear had turned into mosquitoes.  The mosquitoes sucked the blood from the Apaches to take back the blood they took from the sacred bear.  The Apaches accepted this fate, and to this day, some Apaches do not smack mosquitoes when they attack.  The battle application attributed to this story is called the Mosquitoes tactic.  The Apache warriors would take a knife or other weapons and strike quickly at the opponent, when the opponent would attempt to defend, the Apache warrior would draw back and quickly strike at another location on the opponent.  This action emulates the mosquitoes; for as you try to swat mosquitoes, they simply fly away and attack you on a different part of the body.  Mosquitoes leave multiple bite marks, as do the Apache warrior.    

 

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) for Longevity and Vitality By Snake Blocker,

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) for Longevity and Vitality
By Snake Blocker, Certified Metabolic Specialist, Personal Trainer and Health Score Tech

In the 1960s, Mother Russia entered the Space Race (or Space War) with the United States of America.  The Russians only had three main wishes—four if you count ‘World Domination.’   They wanted to be #1 in space, military and human performance.

 This included goals to have a gold medalist in every event in the Olympics and military troops superior to other nations.   During their space program, they wanted to have the perfect Russian specimens going into space, which would be able to sustain the stress of long flights in zero gravity as well as the G-Force of their rockets.  In their ‘process to perfection,’ the USSR science of Heart Rate Variability (HRV) emerged.  From their space program to their Olympic Training Camps, HRV was improving athletic performance. 

The USSR was dominating many of the Olympic sports, because of this HRV edge over other countries.  The downside was it was very costly and few outside these Russian Block circles had access to this new science.

The Russian scientists were able to determine fatigue or recovery levels in individuals by monitoring their heart waves first thing in the morning.  If they knew their fatigue or recovery levels, then the information could be used by their athletic coaches to modify their daily workouts to match their levels.  If their HRV score was high, they would receive an intense workout or workload.  If their HRV score was low, they would receive a modified lighter workout or workload.  If their HRV score was moderate, then their workout or workloads would be moderate.  Each day’s activity load was determined by their morning readings, and over time, their performance improved. 

When looking at a person’s ECG waves, the HRV reader looks at the ‘Q-R-S’ Complex [pattern] of the ECG print out.  If you saw an ECG graph, the ‘Q’ wave would usually be the first large dropped line; the ‘R’ wave would usually be shown as the highest apex line on the graph which followed after the ‘Q’ line; and the ‘S’ wave would be the biggest dropped line after the ‘R’ wave.  These three-part snap shots make the ‘Q-R-S’ Complex [pattern].  The ‘P’ wave precedes the ‘Q-R-S’ Complex and occurs when electrical activity from the sino-atrial node (S-Node) creates activation from the right to the left side of the heart. 

The ‘Q’ wave occurs when the electrical activity goes from the left side to the right side of the heart.  The ‘R’ wave occurs when each wall (right and left) get activated in the ventricular free walls (outer walls).  The ‘S’ wave occurs when a few remaining walls get activated late.  The ‘T’ wave would be similar to the ‘P’ wave following the ‘S’ wave.  The HRV is looking at the apex ‘R’ waves and measuring the length in between each ‘R’ wave. The more inconsistent these comparisons, the more fatigued or unrecovered a person is. 

The more consistent the length in between the ‘R’ waves are, the more rested and recovered a person is. This measurement is called the ‘R-R’ or ‘Cycle Length Variability’ (CLV). The ‘Q-R-S’ corresponds to the depolarization (electrical activity) of the right and left ventricles.  

The ‘R-R’ length changes based on the comparison between the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) and the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) that are both part of the Auto-nomic Nervous System (ANS).  The ‘PNS’ is termed as the ‘Rest and Digest’ system (auto-pilot mode) and the ‘SNS’ is termed as the ‘Flight or Fight’ system (stressful mode).  The more tug-o-war effect between these two systems, then the more ‘R-R’ variance, which means a lower HRV score; which means more fatigue and stress; which means take it easy that day.

 The things that can lower HRV scores can be anything that increases stress, which affects the nervous system.   HRV information is great for everyone but in the early years, even up to less than a decade ago, the machine was around twenty thousand dollars.

Fast forward half a century—now HRV has emerged over the past few years in the form of a smart phone app used in conjunction with a heart rate monitor (armband strap, chest strap, or wrist heart rate detector). Not all HRV phone apps are the same.  The HRV app I use is made by Bio-Force HRV.  The average investment at the time of the article in 2016 is $90-$250 for a quality HRV app (some include heart rate straps).

 I wake up in the morning and put on my Scosche heart rate armband ($79.99) and turn on my Bio-Force HRV app.  I lie back in bed and relax.  After about 30 seconds a timer will begin on the app counting backwards from two and half minutes to zero; I then click ‘save’ and can see my HRV score for the day.  The app will tell me my weekly change. If it shows ‘-7’ for weekly change, for example, that means my HRV score is 7 points lower than the week prior; meaning I’m slightly more fatigued than the prior week.  If it shows a ‘+15’ in weekly change, for example, that means I’m less stress and more recovered than last week, on average.

 It also shows my monthly change.  If I have a low HRV score, then I get a red color, and I do a light workout, as well as relax more that day.  If I have a moderate HRV score (amber color) then I do an average workout and I don’t over push myself.  If I have a high HRV score (green color), then I do an intense workout and I’m most productive on those days.  Remember, it is not healthy to train hard if your nervous system is fatigued.  Things that can lower your HRV the day before: high intensity workouts, PTSD issues, high anxiety, nervousness, medication, medical issues/illnesses, jet lag, little sleep/quality rest, caffeine, alcohol, diet, food sensitivities, inflammations, other stimulate drugs, emotional stress, fasting for long durations, etc…

Heart Rate Variability when done often can improve your longevity and vitality by knowing your body’s response to stress and making sure you get proper rest and recovery as needed.  You can also figure out if you are a person that needs 4, 8, or 12 hours of sleep, etc… to optimize your levels.  If you run constantly on a low HRV (red color) every day and push yourself, you WILL get sick often. 

We must manage our stress levels. Many studies show 75-90% of all illnesses began with an underlining issue coming from high stress (high cortisol hormone levels). I take a high quality Cal/Mag at night and a high quality Vitamin D-3 (with Vitamin K), and Omega-3 Fish Oil (with DHEA and EPA).  These are in addition to high quality Multi-vitamins and minerals and plenty of quality water.  I buy these items to lower my inflammation and aid in combating stress. Do not buy from retail stores, buy from the source.

Snake Blocker

Snowed out in the Santa Rita Foothills

I went out to see my good friend and fellow Pimp Jeff sanders who lives on a nice spread in the foothills of the Santa Rita mountains in SE Arizona. I got snowed out again! not as much as in the Mules but enough to be annoying. We had a good time though, fire making and shooting the shit.
I look forward to going back on a warm sunny day to do some hiking.

Tomahawk

See you on the trail!

Snow on a recent camp out in the mule mountains

I was doing some car camping recently on a 40 acre patch of off grid property a friend of mine owns in the Mule mountains of SE Arizona. I woke up to 8" or 9" of snow. Now, Ill admit it was pretty but I really HATE snow, and was glad when it melted off.

See you on the trail!

Tomahawk

Master Bladesmith and Artisan Tai Goo of Arizona

I met Tai Goo a few years back at Jason Hawks wedding in Aravaca, Arizona. He is an interesting cat. I hooked him up with a Tomahawk designed insulated hammock which he really liked. Im always impressed with his blade and metal work designs. If interested you can check out Tais webpage at - http://www.taigoo.com/

Im sure you will be suitable impressed with his work.

See you on the trail!

Tomahawk

Kevin Estela wilderness programs

Estela wilderness education LLC is owned and operated by my good friend and fellow educator Kevin Estela . He offers quality outdoor education on a wide range of wilderness subjects. His vast knowledge and many years teaching in the survival / education industry make him one of the top wilderness educators in the USA.

I highly recommend anyone who is interested in the in depth ,quality programs Kevin offers should check out his webpage at the link below. In addition you can find more information on his facebook page.
 https://www.facebook.com/Estelawildernesseducation/?fref=photo

 Www.kevinestela.com

See you on the trail!

Tomahawk

Blog post from Tim Smith at the Jack mountain Bushcraft school

And yet another quality blog post from my fellow woodman Tim Smith at the Jack Mountain Bushcraft School. www.jackmtn.com ......

http://www.jackmtn.com/simplog/yup-another-knife-blog/

I look forward to getting back to Maine soon.

See you on the trail!

Tomahawk